3 Ghanaian Women Fleeing LGBTQ+ Persecution Deported to Cameroon by US

• The Trump administration deported three Ghanaian women who sought asylum in the US to Cameroon, a country they have no ties to
• The women claimed they were shackled during the flight and held in a government compound in Yaoundé for two months after arriving in January
• A DW News Africa documentary claimed the US allegedly withheld $30m from the UN Refugee Agency in Cameroon until the country agreed to accept deportees

Three Ghanaian women who fled to the United States fearing persecution over their sexual orientation have been deported, not to Ghana, but to Cameroon, a country where they have no family, no connections, and no guaranteed safety.

The women, who arrived in the US in 2024, had reportedly been granted legal protection that barred American authorities from returning them to Ghana.

Instead, they allegedly became part of a quiet arrangement the Trump administration had struck with more than 30 nations to accept deportees who could not lawfully be sent back to their countries of origin.

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A documentary produced by DW News Africa captured the women speaking on condition of anonymity, their faces and voices concealed to protect their identities.

"I felt like a terrorist, because I mean, what on earth did I do to be shackled like that?" one of the women said, describing being restrained at the hands and feet during the deportation flight. "We are treated like we are slaves. We don't have life anymore."

Cameroon holds deportees with no asylum approval

Upon arriving in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, in January, the three women alleged that they were confined to a government compound for roughly two months.

It was only after they staged a hunger strike that authorities allegedly permitted them to leave during daylight hours.

According to them, they allegedly remained barred from working, and their asylum applications have yet to receive a ruling.

Their lawyer argued the US government had placed them in a situation more dangerous than the one they escaped.

"They are doubly victimised because they're running away from a country that has persecuted them and then now they are being sent to a country they do not know that still has the possibility of persecuting them," he said.

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The New York Times reported that Washington withheld a $30 million payment owed to the UN Refugee Agency operating in Cameroon, releasing the funds only after the country agreed to receive the deportees.

Reports indicate that the US has deported at least 36 migrants to Cameroon under the Trump administration's arrangement, none of them with any connection to the country.

Cameroonian former minister Elvis Ngole Ngole rejected the suggestion that his government was pressured.

"As friends, as good partners, if America has the need to deport some that it seeks to deport and wants to pass through Cameroonian territory, in a relationship of a partnership of mutual respect, Cameroon has no reason to say no," he said.

The Instagram video detailing the deportation of the three Ghanaian women from the US to Cameroon is below:

Ghanaians react to the deported women's ordeal

The deportation of the three Ghanaian women to Cameroon has drawn sharp responses online.

YEN.com.gh has compiled some reactions from social media users below:

councilman_ray wrote:

"Excuse me. LGBTQ+ is a crime in Cameroon, but the government is willing to accept people from the US who fled their country of origin because they practise it? Make it make sense."

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ch.i53 said:

"I'm pretty sure the Ghanaian government has much more pressing matters to deal with."

obcharlex commented:

"No one is prosecuting them in Ghana. They are living with us in love and harmony in Ghana. We all party together every evening."

US to revoke 25 naturalised criminals' citizenship

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported about the US government's move to revoke the citizenship of 25 individuals, including two Ghanaian nationals, accused of obtaining their naturalisation through fraudulent means.

This historic effort not only underscored the government's commitment to maintaining the integrity of the citizenship process but also raised alarming questions about the potential implications for countless others who may be affected by similar investigations.

Source: YEN.com.gh